(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson rebuked the influx of Texas buses carrying illegal immigrants, calling it an “attack” on the U.S.
Addressing the death of a sick 5-year-old child in a Chicago immigrant shelter, Johnson criticized Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott for bussing illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities, including Chicago.
Mayor Brandon Johnson melts down over Texas sending illegals to sanctuary cities:
“IT IS NOT JUST A CHICAGO DYNAMIC!
HE IS ATTACKING OUR COUNTRY!” pic.twitter.com/n0yND8Mv5Q— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) December 19, 2023
“The governor of Texas needs to take a look in the mirror of the chaos that he is causing for this country,” Johnson said on Monday. “This is not just a Chicago dynamic—he is attacking our country.” Johnson also accused Abbott of undermining the “sanity and civility” of the country.
Johnson’s comments come amid an unprecedented increase in illegal border crossing. Border states, including Texas, have been significantly impacted, leading Abbott to prepare transportation for these individuals to locations historically welcoming to immigrants.
NEW: As Eagle Pass, TX is completely overrun with mass illegal crossings, so too, is Border Patrol’s Tucson, AZ sector, which saw over 3,000 known illegal crossings yesterday. This is the scene in Lukeville, AZ this morning where hundreds from around the globe crossed illegally. pic.twitter.com/dvWBYd0NV5
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) December 19, 2023
However, Chicago said it doesn’t have the means to care for all immigrants.
“I want you to hear me good: They’re showing up sick. Do you hear me? They’re showing up sick,” Johnson said of bused illegal aliens. The mayor warned that Chicago, already struggling with homelessness and a lack of medical facilities, is not prepared to handle the immigration burden.
“The issue is not just how we respond in the city of Chicago,” Johnson added. “It’s the fact that we have a governor… that is placing families on buses without shoes, cold, wet, tired, hungry, afraid, traumatized—and then they come to the city of Chicago where we have homelessness, we have mental health clinics that have been shut down and closed.”
Chicago faced increased scrutiny following the death of Jean Carlos Martinez, a 5-year-old immigrant residing in temporary housing for illegal immigrants.
REPORTER: “In Chicago a five-year-old boy who was living in a migrant shelter died.”
KJP: “This is why we have taken [border security] very seriously from day one.” pic.twitter.com/w3CsNQ8aEy
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) December 19, 2023
A pro-immigration group criticized the conditions within the Chicago-funded shelters. Annie Gomberg, a volunteer with Chicago’s Police Station Response Team, claimed that Johnson is obstructing access to the shelters to conceal their dire conditions.
Volunteers in my district have been complaining and concerned about the lack of access and transparency within the migrant shelter for a while now. https://t.co/Z726vpR5o9
— Alexander Perez (@CPDDCPerez) December 19, 2023
“The shelters are completely locked down to outside access. They’re doing this allegedly in order to protect the residents inside,” she said, according to the Associated Press. “The people who live inside are coming to us and saying, ‘please give us blankets, give us clothing for our children, we need bottles, we need diapers.”
Johnson has called on the Biden administration to tackle rampant immigration on the southern border. Johnson himself pledged to visit the southern border to survey the crisis but instead ordered a small delegation.